AltaSea: Beacon – June 30, 2017

In 2016, AltaSea received the Goldhirsh Foundation’s LA2050 Grant enabling us to introduce students to ocean exploration, technologies and sciences. Students gain access to cutting-edge science and technology, one-on-one interactions with accomplished scientists, tech innovators, entrepreneurs, underwater technologies and marine sciences.

LA2050 was launched in 2011 by the Goldhirsh Foundation to inspire an outbreak of civic activism and to develop a roadmap for the future of the Los Angeles region. LA2050 is a community-guided initiative driving and tracking progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles.

The Surf Bus Foundation is teaming up with AltaSea, LAMI and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (CMA) this summer. Surf Bus Foundation was also a recipient of the LA2050 Grant and their mission is to empower people to have a healing connection to the sea by engaging in ocean sports like surfing, swimming and beach games while exploring the wonder and beauty of the sea.

Through Surf Bus Foundation, children from the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation will travel to AltaSea, LAMI and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium over the summer taking part in day long workshops presented by LAMI and CMA. Such programs include Ocean Plastic Pollution and Plankton, Nautical Chart Mapping, Build-a-Boat Buoyancy, Fish Painting and aquarium tours.

E/V Nautilus to Explore the Submerged Shoreline of the Channel Islands

AltaSea is excited to announce we are sponsoring three educators from the Los Angeles area to join the 2017 E/V Nautilus expedition this summer. The Goldhirsh Foundation’s LA2050 Grant we received in 2016 will help support the educational STEM programming we are bringing to LAUSD in collaboration with Dr. Ballard’s non-profit Ocean Exploration Trust (OET).

Beginning July 7th, Nautilus will embark on a 3-week expedition to explore the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS). CINMS has long been known to be home to large populations of commercially important species including fish and lobster as well as fragile ecosystem components such as deep-sea corals, yet by 2014, more than 50% of the sanctuary was poorly mapped and characterized. With a mandate to preserve and maintain this special place, sanctuary management requires a detailed understanding of the distribution, abundance, and condition of the resources within the Sanctuary. Since 2016, OET, NOAA’s Office of Exploration & Research, and CINMS have teamed up aboard E/V Nautilus and have cut this knowledge gap nearly in half. During the 2017 mission — set to launch from AltaSea — the team will continue this work by acquiring high resolution multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data and conducting exploratory dives with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to describe the habitats in uncharacterized regions of the seafloor. This cruise is part of a larger project to understand sea level history and locate, map, and document submerged shorelines in the Channel Islands region.

The Nautilus Exploration Program was founded in 2008 by Dr. Robert Ballard and is operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust. The international program centers on scientific exploration of the seafloor launched from aboard E/V Nautilus, a 64-meter research vessel. In addition to conducting scientific research, the Nautilus Exploration Program offers its expeditions to explorers on shore via live video, audio, and data feeds from the ship. They also bring educators and students aboard E/V Nautilus during expeditions, offering them hands-on experience in ocean exploration, research, and communications.

On June 24, 2017, the Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre (HDDT) previewed the first act of a new work, Beyond the Waterfront, with a one-night only public performance on AltaSea’s wharf. The performance marked the first time immersive art has come to the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s twin Tall Ships in San Pedro and highlighted a new collaboration among HDDT, LA Opera, LAMI, and AltaSea. The history and aesthetic of the Tall Ships juxtaposed with the contemporary volume of traffic in the port provided critical context for performers to connect past and present in the performance.

A dance opera story of sirens and sailors on the ships and the wharf, Beyond the Waterfront, paid homage to the late Leonard Bernstein with a multi-sensory work tackling themes of collaboration, sustainability, and the influence of humanity on environment.

The audience of over 200 patrons sat on the wharf of City Dock No.1, the oldest pier at the Port of Los Angeles, immersed in the sights and sounds of the port, while watching the dancers perform on the anchored ships. Students from the Boys and Girls Clubs of the LA Harbor entertained the guests prior to the show with a concert highlighting 80s Rock and several Broadway musical selections. Their artwork was also displayed in the warehouse.

We were thrilled to host this amazing performance and are honored Heidi Duckler chose AltaSea to set this piece of dance collaboration.

Spotlight on Angel’s Gate Cultural Center

Angel’s Gate Cultural Center (AGCC) is a place of creative discovery, exploration and enlightenment – striving to provide the Southern California community with year-round schedule of gallery exhibitions and community classes.

AltaSea Community Ambassador and Angel’s Gate Cultural Center Executive Director, Amy Eriksen, has had a long career in arts education and has found a passion for bringing the arts to all ages and groups. Her arts career has taken her to the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Music Center in Los Angeles, and for many years at Idyllwild Arts. Her passion for the arts and commitment to AGCC is evident every day.

Angels Gate provides professional work-studio space for 52 artists, including musicians, ceramists, painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, printmakers and jewelers. The Center emerged from a group of San Pedro artists in the 1970’s that created artist studios and exhibition space within the 1940’s era Army barracks of Angels Gate Park.

Angels Gate Cultural Center provides space for artists to work and to engage community through arts education, exhibitions of contemporary art, and cultural events. Angels Gate Cultural Center brings art and culture to the community through interactive classes, gallery exhibits of local and international artists, professional artists’ studios, art education programs in the schools and cultural events.